Let Me Hold You
by YouThinkYouNoeMe
Summary: Lilian receives an unexpected visitor. Inspired by the incident involving Triple H and Lilian at Summerslam. CharactersPairing: LilianBatista


**Title: Let Me Hold You**

**Author: Britney**

**Characters/Pairing: Batista/Lilian**

**Spoilers: Summerslam 2004**

**Feedback: Please :)**

Clutching to her knee, the blonde haired woman gave a pained grimace as she folded her leg up to her chest. She frowned as a trainer stepped up to her, an ice pack in his hand.

"You only have to use it for a little while, Lil," he insisted, upon seeing her less than pleased demeanor. "Just to be sure it doesn't swell tomorrow."

Lilian grunted, waving him towards her. She had never heard of a knee swelling. Wasn't it a bone anyway? Nevertheless, she accepted the ice pack with false gratitude. She glanced up at the trainer once more and then gestured to the door, waving him out of the room. Sighing, the man gave up, leaving the ring announcer alone.

After staring in silence for a few moments, Lilian pressed the ice pack to her knee. A slightly pained hiss emitted from her as the cold, wet material made contact with her skin. Her eyes narrowed as she tought of how she had ended up here - moreover, who had caused her to end up there. What a creep that Triple H could be. Using her, a defenseless, untrained ring announcer, as a shield to avoid a beating from Eugene, all because he knew the poor kid didn't have the heart to swing at her. And when he'd shoved her to the floor, she swore she heard her knee pop. By the time she got backstage, she had tears filling her eyes with each step she took.

Just then, the hair on the back of Lilian's neck stood up, and her instincts told her that someone was watching her. Her hread snapped up, her brown eyes darting to the door, where her premonitions were confirmed. Her jaw dropped and she wasn't sure if it was out of shock, or out of fear.

"What do you want?" she questioned immediately, hoping the harshness in her tone would overshadow the uneasiness laced within it.

The largely muscular man placed his hands in the air, taking a step into the room.

"Hey, I come in peace..." he insisted, his tone so sincere that Lilian almost believed him.

But he couldn't have been sincere. Sincerity would imply that he cared. And there was no way in hell that Dave Batista cared about her. He was all about Evolution. In fact, his little visit to her must have been Hunter's idea, the former World Champion sending his lackey to mess with her some more.

"Please..." Lilian rolled her eyes, "... spare me the phony sentiments, Dave. We both knew why you're here, so lets just cut to the chase."

She glanced away for a moment, and Batista was glad. That way, she couldn't see the hurt look that had snuck onto his face. Little did she know, he did care, and probably too much for his own good. Hunter always said Evolution should be his first love. That wouldn't have been a problem, had Lilian Garcia not been the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Lilian, I'm serious. I'm not here to cause you any trouble, you have my word," he assured her.

He took a cautious step in her direction, wincing when she jumped.

"No offense, but your word doesn't mean very much to me," she quipped, dropping the pack of ice to hug herself protectively. "Actually, your word means absolutely nothing to me."

Dave sighed as he studied her intently, rubbing his hands across the top of his head. He wished she could look beyond his Evolution persona and see the real him, but he feared that - like it had been for so many - it would be impossible for her to see through the facade.

Not that he was going to give in. He was much too persistent for that. It was just going to make things more difficult.

"Lil, please... I know you've got no reason to believe me, but please, just do it. I swear to you, if you just let me come in, you'll see I mean no harm," he said, his voice steady despite his wired nerves.

Lilian tilted her head to the side, examining Batista very closely. She didn't want to believe his promise, but their conversation thusfar certainly had her curious. Could it be that the monster of Evolution had a heart? He had practically begged just to talked to her.

Going against her better judgement, Lilian gave a hesitant nod.

"Oh... okay... you can come in," she said.

Dave did his best to contain a smile, tentatively approaching the woman. He took a seat on a chair sitting by the table she was seated on, his eyes locking on the ice pack she had dropped to her side a few moments ago.

He picked it up, staring at it for a moment before placing it to her knee again, using his free hand to hold her leg still. Her muscles tensed immediately, but soon after, surprisingly, she eased into his touch.

"I just want you to know," he began, moving the ice over a bit, "that I don't condone what Hunter did to you out there. In fact, I thought it was downright despicable, and I'm sorry that had to happen."

"Well, thank you, Dave, but I don't think you're responsible for Triple H's actions. I appreciate the sympathy, though," she said, her lips curling into a genuine smile.

Soon after, her brow furrowed. What was she saying?

"Are you okay?" Dave asked, his hands still locked on her knee. "You took a nasty bump to that knee."

Lilian shrugged, unconsiously placing her hand on top of his. As soon as she realized what she had done, she yanked it away, her cheeks turning a rosy shade. What the hell was wrong with her?

"I'm alright... you seemed worse off than me after your match."

Somehow, after seeing what Hunter did to Lilian, Dave had forgotten all about his match earlier against Edge and Jericho. Not only did he lose his shot at the Intercontinental Title, his back and shoulder were killing him, thanks to Edge and Jericho both slamming him into the steel steps.

"I'll live," he replied. "I kinda forgot about that when I saw Triple H grab you. I haven't even spoken to him yet, I'm afraid I'll strangle him."

Lilian eyed him curiously. Could it be that she had been misjudging him all along, basing her opinion too heavily on outside appearances? Being an asshole came with the territory of being a member of Evolution, the most hated group on Raw. Yet in the few minutes he'd spent in the room with her, Batista had been nothing but a caring, compassionate individual.

"Don't do that," she replied with a soft laugh, "I wouldn't want you getting thrown out of Evolution on my account."

Dave shook his head, exhaling loudly. He had seriously begun to question whether or not he wanted to be a part of that faction. What Triple H had done to Lilian earlier, and what he'd done to Eugene and William Regal in past weeks seemed to suck the glamour out of it.

"To be honest, I'm not so sure I'd care. I'm sick of being looked at like an animal... being known as a gorilla for Flair and H is not what I wanted my career to turn into. People look at me like I'm some kind of monster, and I'm not. I'm no monster, Lilian. I've got a mind, and I've got a heart," he said, his tone almost wistful. He glanced up at her, boldly looking her in the eye. "And my heart seems to like you a whole lot."

Lilian's gaze was sympathetic, until Dave made his final statement. Her expression grew confused, but before she could contemplate what he said any further, he surprised her even more. Darting his head towards hers, he pressed his lips to her mouth, kissing her.

Though the kiss was simply a tiny peck on the lips, Lilian's stomach fluttered in a way it hadn't in the longest time. When Dave opened his eyes, he was pleasantly surprised to find a satisfied grin on the blonde woman's face.

"I think my heart likes you, too," she said with a wink.

A sigh of relief whooshed out of him, and with a laugh, he placed his forehead against hers.

"Thank you," he whispered, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"For what?" she asked, curious.

"Well, for starters, you didn't slap me," he joked, earning a laugh from Lilian. "But I really want to thank you for letting me in here to talk to you. You've made a very happy man out of me... I didn't think that was possible."

Lilian smiled, taking his hand in hers again. The most unexpected encounter with one of the most unexpected people had left her more than pleased. She tossed her free arm around his neck, pulling her into a hug. Her fingers danced down his back, and noticed jst how tight the muscles in his upper back felt. A small smirk played on her lips, and she gently pushed him away.

"Speaking of being happy, does your back still hurt?" she asked, placing her hand gingerly on his shoulder.

Dave couldn't help but laugh at the randomness of her question.

"No, not really... why?" he asked, his brow cocked in the air.

"Oh," she said plainly, and even though her gaze fell she still had the playful grin on her face. "Because I was going to say that I'd be more than happy to give those aching muscles of yours a massage."

Dave's eyes widened slightly at her proposition, and he smiled. He hopped up from his chair, taking the hand she had wrapped around his and pulling her up with him. Putting his arm around her to support her still sore knee, Dave took Lilian and gestured to the door. As they headed to the door, he grinned, responding to her statement.

"If that's the case, every muscle in my body is sore."

::The End::


End file.
